Wynne on “Free Tuition”

Premier Kathleen Wynne says she “worried” about her government pitching a new student grant program as providing “free” tuition.
The Liberal government announced in its recent budget that it is combining existing programs to create an Ontario Student Grant, which would pay for average college or university tuition for students from families with incomes of $50,000 or less.
But in a question-and-answer session with student leaders, Wynne was asked why the program is being marketed as free tuition, when students who qualify would still have to pay $3,000.
She says she “worried about the same thing: that it’s free with some explanation required”.
Wynne says the $3,000 was arrived at because staff determined it was a “reasonable amount” that a student could make at a summer job.